I should have learned more Russian growing up. My parents used it as a secret language to keep me and my brother ignorant. And they translated what sour-looking Russian diplomats said on the news, explaining what was left out in the English version.
They could Henry Higgins a speaker's accent and tell me where he or she was from. Even better, dissect the speaker's' vocabulary and separate who was well-educated from who wasn't. They even explained what a person's name meant or could mean.
I had my own CNN commentators and a solo guided tour of that exotic country. The same country I learned to "duck and cover" from in grade school because Russia was going to bomb New York someday.
Of course, knowing Russian wouldn't have helped me survive. But to that, I could at least say "Bozhe moy." Oh my God.
(from Corvus Review’s Issue 21; Image by Hannah Alkadi from Pixabay)
I went to the USSR in the 80's on a high school trip. We visited a school. A young woman just a bit younger than me ran up to our group pleading, "please, please don't bomb us. Please."
I enjoyed your essay. Happy New Year! Best wishes! Janet